How Much Do Record Producers Earn?
Some of the top record producers include Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Jimmy Iovine, T-Bone Burnett, and P.Diddy (Sean Puffy Combs). The role of a record producer ranges vastly, depending on each's personal skills. Producers such as Randy Jackson and T-Bone Burnett are musicians who control how music is played and put together on an album. Simon Cowell and P.Diddy work as administrators who approve the final product and make creative suggestions. How much a record producer earns can range from "peanuts to caviar," according to producer Meghan Gohil in a February 2007 article for Payscale. He explained that producers on the lower end may earn $20,000 yearly while producers on the higher end may earn $1 million or more yearly.
Other People Are Reading
-
Advances
-
Much like recording artists and musicians, record producers may also receive advances from record companies. An advance is a lump-sum payment to offset living and production costs while recording an album. However, the advance is recouped from album sales and producers who earn "points" on an album do not receive payments until the advance is recouped. Typically, producers working for major record labels receive an advance while producers working for smaller labels or independent albums make no advance. In his article for Taxi.com, music business attorney and author Donald Passman explained that record producers receive a $10,000 advance from record labels. Superstar producers may receive $50,000 advances.
Points and Royalties
-
The "points" system in production refers to the percentage that producers will receive from album sales. Top producers may earn as much as 10 points per album, or 10 cents, while new producers or producers with smaller track records may earn 3 to 4 points per album, or 3 to 4 cents. Royalties from points are paid to producers after the label has recouped the advance given to the producer. The salary range for producers on gold (500,000 sales) or platinum (1,000,000 sales) albums range from $15,000 to $120,000. Minus a $10,000 or $50,000 advance, a producer may net anywhere from $5,000 to $70,000.
-
Independent Record Producers
-
While major label producers may produce an entire album or nearly an entire album for artists under that label, an independent producer may work for several labels or no label at all. Independent producers, such as Rodney Jerkins, have earned millions of dollars by producing hit songs for a variety of artists under different labels. Some charge by the "track," or song produced. Entry-level producers may earn as low as $100 per track; top producers such as Scott Storch earn $100,000 per "track." Most record producers earn between $1,500 to $3,000 per track.
Executive Producers
-
Some record producers such as Simon Cowell, Clive Davis and P.Diddy often act as executive producers. Thus, their role also includes financing albums and managing the album's budget. In short, the creative control over an album rests with the executive producer. According to Insidejobs.com, the typical salary for an executive producer is between $42,000 and $111,000 yearly. Cowell, Davis and Diddy may work by contract on several album projects per year, earning high six-figure salaries.
-
References
- Photo Credit Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images
